While, however, the statements which the Ancients made on these points were correct, they yet omitted to defend their arguments with logical proofs; of course they never suspected that there could be sophists so shameless as to try to contradict obvious facts. More recent physicians, again, have been partly conquered by the sophistries4 of these fellows and have given credence5 to them; whilst others who attempted to argue with them appear to me to lack to a great extent the power of the Ancients. For this reason I have attempted to put together my arguments in the way in which it seems to me the Ancients, had any of them been still alive, would have done, in opposition6 to those who would overturn the finest doctrines7 of our art.
I am not, however, unaware8 that I shall achieve either nothing at all or else very little. For I find that a great many things which have been conclusively9 demonstrated by the Ancients are unintelligible10 to the bulk of the Moderns owing to their ignorance — nay11, that, by reason of their laziness, they will not even make an attempt to comprehend them; and even if any of them have understood them, they have not given them impartial12 examination.
The fact is that he whose purpose is to know anything better than the multitude do must far surpass all others both as regards his nature and his early training. And when he reaches early adolescence14 he must become possessed15 with an ardent16 love for truth, like one inspired; neither day nor night may he cease to urge and strain himself in order to learn thoroughly all that has been said by the most illustrious of the Ancients. And when he has learnt this, then for a prolonged period he must test and prove it, observing what part of it is in agreement, and what in disagreement with obvious fact; thus he will choose this and turn away from that. To such an one my hope has been that my treatise17 would prove of the very greatest assistance. . . . Still, such people may be expected to be quite few in number, while, as for the others, this book will be as superfluous18 to them as a tale told to an ass13.
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1 faculties | |
n.能力( faculty的名词复数 );全体教职员;技巧;院 | |
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2 predecessors | |
n.前任( predecessor的名词复数 );前辈;(被取代的)原有事物;前身 | |
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3 thoroughly | |
adv.完全地,彻底地,十足地 | |
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4 sophistries | |
n.诡辩术( sophistry的名词复数 );(一次)诡辩 | |
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5 credence | |
n.信用,祭器台,供桌,凭证 | |
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6 opposition | |
n.反对,敌对 | |
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7 doctrines | |
n.教条( doctrine的名词复数 );教义;学说;(政府政策的)正式声明 | |
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8 unaware | |
a.不知道的,未意识到的 | |
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9 conclusively | |
adv.令人信服地,确凿地 | |
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10 unintelligible | |
adj.无法了解的,难解的,莫明其妙的 | |
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11 nay | |
adv.不;n.反对票,投反对票者 | |
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12 impartial | |
adj.(in,to)公正的,无偏见的 | |
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13 ass | |
n.驴;傻瓜,蠢笨的人 | |
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14 adolescence | |
n.青春期,青少年 | |
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15 possessed | |
adj.疯狂的;拥有的,占有的 | |
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16 ardent | |
adj.热情的,热烈的,强烈的,烈性的 | |
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17 treatise | |
n.专著;(专题)论文 | |
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18 superfluous | |
adj.过多的,过剩的,多余的 | |
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